Participants

David Dunn¹; Stefan Wolff¹; Jeremy Smith³; Gwendolyn Sasse⁵; Tracey German⁴; Gulshan Pashayeva²;  ¹ University of Birmingham, UK;  ² Center of Analysis of International Relations, Azerbaidjan;  ³ University of Eastern Finland, Finland;  ⁴ King’s College, London, UK;  ⁵ ZOiS Centre for East European and int. Studies, Germany

Discussion

While spheres-of-influencing thinking appears to be back with a vengeance as a practice in international relations, it remains relatively neglected as a concept in international relations scholarship. This roundtable seeks to address this imbalance by re-examining spheres of influence from a historically grounded theoretical and empirical perspective. We will consider the origins of scholarly engagement with spheres of influence in classical geopolitics and the English School, explore the validity of critiques, and examine empirically how relevant the concept is in contemporary international affairs, focusing both on great powers and the states navigating their rivalries.